French navy boards tanker in Mediterranean suspected of being part of Russia's shadow fleet
The interception took place in the Western Mediterranean and was carried out in cooperation with allies, including the United Kingdom, which monitored the ship.
The French navy intercepted and boarded a tanker in the Mediterranean Sea on Friday that President Emmanuel Macron said is linked to Russia's sanctioned shadow fleet shipping oil in violation of international sanctions over the war in Ukraine.
According to the French maritime authorities for the Mediterranean, the tanker Deyna is suspected of operating under a false flag designation.
The interception took place in the Western Mediterranean and was carried out in cooperation with allies, including the United Kingdom, which monitored the ship, the authorities said.
"This operation aimed to verify the nationality of the vessel," which was flying the flag of Mozambique and was coming from the Russian port of Murmansk, the maritime authorities said in a statement.
The documents found onboard "confirmed doubts about the validity of the flag," they said.
The tanker was diverted and escorted by the French navy to an anchorage point for further checks, the statement said and the case was referred to a prosecutor in the port of Marseille.
In a post on X, Macron called the Deyna a "shadow fleet" vessel.
"These vessels, which circumvent international sanctions and violate the law of the sea, are war profiteers. They seek to generate profits and finance Russia’s war effort," Macron said. "We won't let this happen."
Russia is believed to be using a fleet of hundreds of ships to evade sanctions over its war against Ukraine. France and other countries have vowed to crack down.
In January, France's navy intercepted an oil tanker in the Mediterranean sailing from Russia. The vessel was released last month after paying a multimillion-euro penalty.
Last September, French naval forces boarded another oil tanker of France's Atlantic coast that Macron also linked to the shadow fleet.
Russian President Vladimir Putin denounced that interception as an act of piracy.
French Navy Stops Sanctioned Shadow Fleet Tanker Sailing Under False Flag
The French Navy, working with the UK, has stopped another sanctioned shadow fleet tanker sailing in the Mediterranean. The Navy reports the tanker Deyna (111,808 dwt) was stopped midday on March 20 for verification due to the suspicion that it was operating under a false flag.
French forces boarded the tanker by helicopter after reporting, along with the British, that they had been tracking the vessel, which sailed from Murmansk, Russia. The tanker’s AIS signal showed it was heading to the Suez Canal and likely to China. Images show the ship low in the water, laden with a cargo of crude.
The Deyna, built in 2005, is listed as having had its class withdrawn in March 2024 and does not show an inspection record since August 2024. It is listed as owned by Chinese interests, with the French reporting the vessel claimed to be operating under the flag of Mozambique. Equasis lists the flag as Tonga. Africa has become a recent hot spot for false flag operations, with both Madagascar and landlocked Zimbabwe warning the IMO last month of false flag claims.
The tanker was sanctioned by the United States in January 2025 for its involvement with the Russian oil industry and links to a company called Sino Ship Management. The European Union and the UK also sanctioned this tanker in 2025.
Armee Francaise reports that the initial verification efforts this morning confirmed its suspicion regarding the legitimacy of the flag, and the case was referred to the public prosecutor in Marseille. At the prosecutor’s request, the tanker is being escorted to an anchorage for continued inspections.
“These vessels, which evade international sanctions and violate the law of the sea, are profiteers of war. They line their pockets while helping finance Russia’s war effort,” declared French President Emmanuel Macron. “We remain resolute… The war involving Iran will not deflect France from its support for Ukraine, where Russia’s war of aggression continues unabated.”
It marks the third instance where French has reported detaining a shadow fleet tanker. In January, it stopped another tanker off Marseille but released it after paying several million euros in fines. Similarly, last September, France detained another tanker off the Atlantic coast. The captain of that tanker was being tried in France for disobeying instructions from the military.
Across Europe, there are increasing efforts to crack down on false-flag vessels. The French military assisted Belgium in stopping another tanker earlier in March. It was also released after paying a fine. Sweden this month has detained two vessels that it reports were sailing under false flags. Both cases are currently under investigation, with the captains placed under detention and facing possible felony charges for presenting false papers. Denmark is also detaining a containership linked to Iran after reporting it was also flying a false flag, but quickly changed to Iran when it was challenged.
French navy boards Russia-linked tanker
in Mediterranean
The French navy has boarded and seized an oil tanker sailing in the Western Mediterranean from the Russian port of Murmansk accused of belonging to what has been dubbed Moscow's "shadow fleet", vessels of opaque ownership suspected of dodging Western sanctions on the country's crude oil exports.
Issued on: 20/03/2026
The French navy intercepted an oil tanker sailing from Russia in the Mediterranean on Friday, as President Emmanuel Macron insisted France would press ahead with efforts to back Ukraine despite the Iran war.
This is the third such suspected "shadow fleet" tanker intercepted by France in recent months.
"This morning in the Mediterranean, the French Navy intercepted and boarded another vessel from the shadow fleet, the Deyna," Macron said on X.
Several European countries have targeted Moscow's so-called "shadow fleet" of tankers used to transport oil in breach of Western sanctions imposed over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, now in its fifth year.
Local authorities said the navy intercepted the Mozambican-flagged vessel – which sailed from Murmansk in northwestern Russia – over its registration.
The operation was carried out in coordination with other countries, including Britain, "which participated in tracking the vessel," the maritime prefecture said.
The ship will undergo further checks once anchored, it added.
The 250-metre (820-feet) tanker, which is on an EU sanctions list, was located near Spain's Balearic Islands and will be escorted to French waters in coming days, according to a source close to the investigation.
'Line their pockets'
Macron has pledged that France would maintain pressure on Russia to end its invasion of Ukraine.
The president on Friday labelled "shadow fleet" vessels "profiteers of war," accusing them of bypassing international sanctions and violating maritime law.
"They line their pockets while helping finance Russia's war effort," he said.
With global attention focused on the US-Israeli war with Iran, France will keep supporting Ukraine, Macron added.
"We remain resolute," he wrote in English.
"The war involving Iran will not deflect France from its support for Ukraine, where Russia's war of aggression continues unabated."
The United States has eased some restrictions on Russia's oil sales as it tries to stabilise global energy markets, upended by Iran blocking the Strait of Hormuz.
The move was criticised by Macron who pledged Russia would get no "respite" while German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said easing sanctions was "wrong".
Multi-million euro fine
French forces boarded another suspected Russian tanker, the Grinch, in January. But the ship was later let go after its owner paid a multi-million-euro fine.
In February, it was revealed that two employees of a Russian private security company were on another suspected Russian "shadow fleet" tanker seized by France in September, the Boracay.
The Chinese captain of the vessel went on trial in absentia, with prosecutors demanding he serve a one-year jail sentence for failing to follow orders to stop the ship.
Other European nations have also ramped up efforts to seize Russia-linked vessels.
In early March, Belgian special forces intercepted a tanker in the North Sea, with aerial support from France.
The Swedish coast guard last week arrested the Russian captain of a suspected "shadow fleet" vessel on suspicion of forging documents and violating the maritime code.
Nearly 600 vessels suspected of being part of Russia's "shadow fleet" are subject to European Union sanctions.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP)
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